The effect of preoperative diagnostic methods on the correct selection of operative procedure on the thyroid gland

The study compares three diagnostic procedures, the analysis of which is aimed at a choosing the optimal extent of resection on the thyroid. Diagnostic procedures, when based on clinical examination (palpation, scintigraphy, laryngoscopy, X-ray), lead to the optimal extent of resection in 74.2% of patients. Procedures selection performed on the basis of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) results lead to the correct extent of resection in 93.1% of patients. The procedures of frozen section lead to the correct resection extent in 81.3% of patients. (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 25.)